Dancing with Gracie
by Foxy527
Summary: This started out as a "one shot", but I've decided to expand. The first chapter takes place in Season 3 when Danny is afraid he might miss a "Father/Daughter Dance" with Gracie. This is my take on what might have happened if that were the case. The rest will explore Gracie's relationship with her Uncle Steve...because I just love the two of them together. :) Please review!
1. Dancing with Gracie

**This started out as a "one shot", but I've decided to expand. The first chapter takes place in Season 3 when Danny is afraid he might miss a "Father/Daughter Dance" with Gracie. This is my take on what might have happened if that were the case. The rest will explore Gracie's relationship with her Uncle Steve...because I just love the two of them together. :) Please review!**

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Danny had been shot. Again. And although it wasn't a life threatening wound, Steve knew he would never hear the end of it. Mostly because he never heard the end of any wound Danny had incurred during their four year partnership. It didn't really matter who was at fault, the blame always fell on Steve. He was okay with that, though. They had caught their suspect and were on their way to finding justice for the victim. Steve was okay with that and relieved that Danny was okay.

The only problem was that tonight was the annual Father/Daughter dance at Grace's school and Danny had promised to be there just as he had done for the past three years without fail. But tonight, Danny was lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound to his leg from the altercation earlier in the day.

Steve assured him that he would take care of everything. He would pick Grace up and "stand in" for Danny at this all important event in Grace's life. He didn't really know what to expect, but Danny had made him promise that he would 1) wear a suit and 2) treat his little girl to the time of her life that night.

Not one to disappoint, Steve had shown up at Rachel and Grace's house as promised. He rang the doorbell, and as Rachel answered the door she was impressed to see Steve standing there in a suit and tie with flowers in hand.

"Hey Rachel. I'm here to pick up Gracie." He smiled at Rachel.

Hearing her uncle Steve's voice, Grace ran to Steve and threw her arms around him. "Uncle Steve! I'm so glad you came!" she said.

"I wouldn't have missed it!" Steve handed her the flowers, "These are for you." Then, held her back so he could look at her in the beautiful new dress she had bought for the occasion. "You look beautiful, sweetie."

Grace smiled sweetly up at Steve, "Thank you. You look nice too. I hardly ever see you in a suit."

"Well, I only dress up for special occasions and this is definitely one of those times. Listen, maybe after the dance I can take you by the hospital to see Danno if it's okay with your Mom." He turned to Rachel who shook her head in agreement.

"She was supposed to stay with Danny tonight," replied Rachel, "but given the circumstances, I can change our plans so you can bring her back here when you're done."

Steve looked down at the sweet girl standing with her arms around him and then looked back at Rachel. "Gracie can stay with me, if that's okay. That way you and Stan won't have to change your plans. I can take her back by to see Danny again in the morning and then bring her home tomorrow afternoon."

Rachel looked at Steve with gratefully. "That would be great. I know Danny and Grace would both appreciate that." Then looking at Grace, she said, "Why don't you go get your things, sweetheart. You can stay with Uncle Steve tonight if you want."

Grace ran to get her overnight bag and returned to leave with Steve and head out to the dance. Steve took the bag from her hand and held his other arm out to her so she could take his hand. "This way, my lady." He said as he pretended to be very gallant, "Your chariot to the ball is waiting." Grace smiled adoringly up at Steve as he led her to her truck and got her settled inside.

Once the arrived at Grace's school and checked in, the headed towards the gym which had been turned into a pretend ballroom for the night. Grace immediately found a few of her friends who were also there with their fathers and introductions were made as they found a table to claim for the night. One friend in particular named Lucy asked Grace and Steve to sit at the same table with her and her dad, so they happily obliged. Lucy had been crushing on Steve ever since he'd been her "knight in shining armor" on an Aloha Girls campout last year. Danny and Steve had been chaperones on the trip when Steve and Lucy had both been kidnapped by a fugitive. Steve had saved the day…..and Lucy…..and she had sworn she was going to marry him someday.

Grace grabbed Steve hand and looked up at him with her sweet smile and big brown eyes, "Dance with me, Uncle Steve?" she asked. Steve wouldn't have turned down that face for anything. Besides, it just so happened that he was a pretty good dancer on slow songs. "I would love to, Gracie. Let's go." Then looking over at Lucy, he said, "Save a dance for me, Lucy and I'll get you before the dance is over, okay?" Lucy looked like it was the best news she had heard in her young life as her cheeks flushed a little and she shook her head eagerly.

Then, Steve led Grace out to the dance floor as they began a slow dance together with other father/daughter pairs joining in as well.

"You dance pretty good." Grace admired. "Danno doesn't really like to dance, but he always comes with me anyway."

"Danno would do anything for _you_, ya know. And so would I. I'm really sorry he couldn't be here with you tonight, Grace. I'm sure he'll make it up to you somehow." Steve winked at her

"It's okay." Grace said. "I like being here with you too! You're a lot taller than Daddy, though." They both laughed at that. They continued to dance together until the song ended and they decided to go get some refreshments from the snack table that had been set up.

One of the mothers who had a hand in getting the event organized was there handing out drinks to the guests when she saw Grace and Steve approach. She smiled her most dazzling smile at the handsome man in the dark suit approaching with Grace.

Her eyes never left Steve"Well, hello Grace. Who is this with you tonight?"

"This is my Uncle Steve, Ms. Norwood. My daddy had an accident at work today and couldn't be here tonight, so Steve came with me instead."

"Well isn't that nice of Uncle Steve. We're happy to have you here." She was giving him her most flirtatious look as she reached out to shake his hand. Grace noticed with some annoyance that she had leaned over slightly to give Steve a view of her very obvious cleavage. Steve seemed oblivious to it as he shook her hand in return, "Steve McGarrett. It's nice to meet you. And I wouldn't have let Gracie miss this for anything. She's too important to me," he replied. 'Ms. Norwood' looked as if she might melt right into a puddle on the spot as Steve freed his hand from her grasp to put it on Grace's back and lead her back to their table to enjoy their refreshments. Once they got out of earshot, Grace looked up at Steve.

"Be careful of her, Uncle Steve."

Steve was curious about that comment. "What do you mean?" he asked the little girl.

"I noticed how she was trying to get you to look down her shirt. And I've heard some of the other moms say she's been married three times already and is hunting for her next husband now. She was flirting with you, so she must wanna get her hooks in you."

Steve couldn't help but laugh at the little girls take on the situation. "Get her hooks in me?" he raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Yeah, whatever that means. I've heard some of my friends say that's what she does when she finds a guy she likes. She gets her hooks in them and marries them before they know what happened."

"You're pretty perceptive, aren't you Gracie? But you probably shouldn't repeat things like that when you hear them. It's not really nice to gossip. Besides, I'm here with _you_ tonight, so nobody is getting their hooks in me. I promise." He kissed her on top of her head as they finished their food and decided to dance some more.

Steve and Grace enjoyed the night together, and Steve eventually made Lucy's night by dancing with her as well. Before they knew it, it was time to go. After telling everyone goodbye, they got back in to Steve's truck to head to the hospital and visit Danny before calling it a night.

They entered Danny's room and Grace ran up to her dad, "Danno!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around him in the hospital bed.

"Hey Monkey. I've missed you. Did you have fun with Uncle Steve?"

"I had a great time. Uncle Steve is a great dancer!" Grace replied.

"Well, don't get any ideas. Next year, I'M going with you again…..Unless I get shot, that is." He looked at his little girl who was the center of his world and felt better than he had all day. "You look beautiful, sweetie. You are just the medicine I needed. I'm glad you had a good time!"

Then he looked at Steve, "Thanks for standing in for me."

"Anytime, buddy. It's the least I could do. And I had a great time with Gracie."

For all the arguing they did, Danny was thankful Grace had someone like Steve in her life; Someone he could trust to look after her in situations like this when he couldn't be there himself. They might not always see eye to eye, but Danny knew he could always count on Steve when he needed him. Friendships like that were hard to find and he was grateful to have it with Steve and the rest of his Five-0 team.


	2. Birds and Bees with Gracie

Steve pulled in to pick Gracie up from school and found her standing by the sidewalk talking to a boy. Thinking that this must be the kid Danny told him about, Steve gave him a 'once over'. Apparently, Gracie was full on into her first crush with a boy named "Tyler" and Danno was not happy about it. Steve had heard about it ad nauseum. He always tried to be the voice of reason during Danny's ramblings. It was part of growing up….he said. They're _only_ 12…..he said. They were just kids, so how much trouble could they get into….he said.

Now sitting in the car watching Grace talking to "the kid", Steve realized he didn't like it either. Not one bit. So maybe Danny had a point and this boy was bad news. Steve quickly got out of the car and made his way to Grace….trying not to scowl.

She turned towards Steve and a big smile crossed her face. It surprised him how Grace's sweet smile could melt him down to a pile of mush. He loved this little girl. He smiled back at her. "Hey Gracie. Ready to go?"

"Hey, Uncle Steve. Where's Danno?" she asked.

"Danno got delayed at the doctor's office, so he asked me to pick you up and bring you back to the office, okay?"

Grace shook her head. It wasn't unusual for someone in her Five-0 ohana to pick her up if Danno couldn't be there. She loved her Uncle Chin and Auntie Kono, but she had a special bond with her Uncle Steve and was always happiest when he was there to pick her up.

Remembering her manners, Grace turned to Tyler. "Uncle Steve, this is my friend Tyler. Tyler, this is Steve." Tyler looked up at Steve and reached out his hand as if to shake it. Feeling a bit awkward shaking hands with a twelve year old, Steve shook it anyway. Tyler's smile was genuine, "It's nice to meet you, sir. Aren't you with Five-0? Wow! That must be an awesome job!"

_Okay, so maybe the kids not all that bad,_ Steve though. _At least he's polite._ For some reason, he was having trouble finding his voice, though. Seeing Grace looking at the kid as if the sun revolved around him made Steve want to punch something. He cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah. I'm with Five-0. It's a pretty cool job, I guess."

"Grace talks about you guys a lot." Then seeing his own ride pull up, he grabbed his backpack off of the ground, "Well, there's my Mom, so guess I should go. It was nice to meet you, sir." Tyler said before turning towards Grace again. "See you tomorrow Grace." He looked at her and she smiled shyly back. Steve's defenses went up again. _Definitely need to watch this guy,_ his inner voice said.

After Tyler walked away, Steve put his arm on Grace's shoulder to lead her to his truck.

After getting her settled and maneuvering his way out of the carpool line, Grace started telling him about her day. It was nice hearing her talk about school, but it seemed every conversation led back to Tyler in one way or another. Then, she got unusually quiet.

"Uncle Steve, can I ask you a question?" Grace turned to look at him tentatively.

_Uh oh,_ the inner voice said. "Sure, Gracie. You know you can ask me anything." He tried to sound nonchalant and confident even though he didn't feel either at the moment. He was learning quickly that you never knew what might come out of a pre-teen girl's mouth.

"What does it mean that guys only think with their pants?"

Steve involuntarily swerved in the road and had to make a concentrated effort to get them back into the right lane. His inner voice spoke again, _How the hell are you supposed to answer that? And where did she even HEAR that, was a better question? _

Steve squirmed in his seat a little but kept his eyes on the road. "Uh…..Where did you hear that?"

"Well, Lucy's sister, Maggie, said that guys only think with their pants. So I was just wondering what that means….and if it's true."

Steve's mind was whirling. Sweet little Lucy was in Grace's Aloha Girls troupe and she apparently had a crush on him. So, she had a sister, Maggie, giving them advice on guys? What the heck?

"How old is Maggie?" Steve asked….trying to stall so he could come up with an answer to her original question.

"She's 16. She's a cheerleader at the high school and she knows a _lot_ about boys."

_Uh huh_…..Steve thought back to his days as a quarterback with the high school. AND his various 'experiences' with cheerleaders. No, he didn't like where this was going at all. Grace was too young for this! He stole a glance in her direction. All he could see was innocent little Gracie sitting there asking uncomfortable questions.

He wasn't ready for this.

"Wouldn't you rather talk to Danno about this?" Steve asked uncomfortably even though he knew the answer.

Grace looked at him and scoffed, "Seriously, Uncle Steve? Danno would _flip _if I asked him a question about boys. He would lecture me for twenty minutes on how 'evil' they are and how I need to stay away."

Steve had to chuckle. She was right. Danno would "flip". SO, here he was being pressed for information on boys from his sweet Gracie. Ready or not, he might as well dive in. He would worry about what Danny thought about it later.

Steve contemplated what to tell her before finally taking a deep breath. "Look, Gracie. You're getting older now and you're starting to change…"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Uncle Steve. We've already had the sex talk."

Steve's eyebrows shot up. "You have? With who?"

"We had a Sex Ed class this year and they told us _all_ about it." Steve said a silent prayer of thanks while Grace continued, "Then I talked to Mom about it some. It sounds pretty gross." She paused. "I just wanna know what it means that guys only 'think with their pants'."

Steve looked over at Grace. How could she look older and innocent at the same time?

"Gracie, listen. Now that you're getting older, you're going to have to be really careful with boys. Okay?" He squirmed in his seat again. How the hell did he find himself in this situation? He had no idea but he tried to forge on.

"When someone says that a guy 'only thinks with his pants', it means boys who are teenagers have a hard time controlling their hormones. Okay? They might like you, but they're going to pressure you to do things you aren't comfortable with. That doesn't mean you have to do what they want, though. If a guy really likes you, he's not going to pressure you in to doing something that uncomfortable. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Steve said a silent prayer that she understood so he wouldn't have to elaborate anymore.

Grace looked contemplative. "I think so. But it's okay to _kiss_ a boy, right?"

_Dear God, could this get any worse?_

"Let me put it this way, sweetie. You shouldn't kiss a guy…..or do _anything_ with him…..unless you really, _really_ like him. Okay?"

Grace looked over at him and smiled. "Okay Uncle Steve."

"Otherwise….." Steve continued….."Danno and I might have to rough him up. And I really don't want to have to do that. Got it?"

Grace turned to him and gave him her best smile. "I love you, Uncle Steve."

"Same to you, kiddo." He pulled into the HQ parking lot and thanked his lucky stars this conversation was over. Seeing Gracie grow up was hard, BUT, she was a good kid. Steve was proud of her and proud of Danny for raising such a good one.

He was a little worried about what the future held, though. Gracie was nearly a teenager…Dear God, he didn't even want to think about it!


	3. The Sleepover

Danny called Steve in a panic which wasnt entirely unusual since Danny _always _seemed to be on "high alert". This time, it might be justified however. Rachel was in the hospital with appendicitis. Step-Stan was out of town on business and Gracie had called her Dad because she knew something was wrong with Rachel. When Danny got to the house to investigate, it was obvious Rachel was having problems so they had rushed her to the emergency room. Turns out, she would need to have to have an emergency appendectomy.

The other problem was that Rachel had the baby, Gracie, and Lucy who had apparently come over for a sleepover. The nanny had been able to take the baby. However, she wasn't prepared to take on two little girls, as well, so Steve and Catherine showed up at the hospital to find Danny trying to figure out what to do with the girls so he could stay with Rachel. She was being prepped for surgery and he had the girls to deal with. Danny was getting ready to call Lucy's mom to see if she could pick her up….thus spoiling Gracie's much anticipated slumber party…. when Catherine stepped in.

"How about if we take the girls to our house? We can still do the slumber party and you can be here for Rachel?"

Steve looked at her as if she was crazy. Danny looked relieved so she smiled sweetly up at Steve. Grace turned to him with the same look on her innocent little face. A slumber party with pre-teen girls? _Seriously? What the hell?_

Of course he couldn't resist "the look". He had learned this look well. Between Mary, Catherine, and even sweet Gracie, he was convinced that _all_ women had this same "look" that they pulled out when they wanted their way. All men…..even Super SEAL…..were toast when it came to the look. He had _no choice _but to give in.

He looked at Danny and caved, "Sure, buddy. We'd be happy to take them. You stay with Rachel and we'll take the girls home with us. They can go swimming tomorrow and you can pick them up whenever you're ready."

Danny looked unbelievably relieved, "Thanks, babe. I appreciate it. I'd hate to send them home since Grace and Lucy were really looking forward to this!"

Steve still wasn't convinced, but he and Catherine corralled the girls into his truck and got them back to the McGarrett house without incident. The girls chattered the entire way home and Steve wondered….again…. what he had gotten himself into. The couple of times he'd looked at Catherine, she had only smiled sweetly at him as if everything was going to be okay. He wasn't so sure.

The girls sprinted out of the truck leaving Steve to get their overnight bags into the house. As he walked in, he found Catherine already taking charge.

"Alright, girls, you're going to sleep in Mary's bedroom. Gracie, you've slept in there before, so you can show Lucy where it's at. Okay?" Grace and Lucy smiled at her eagerly. "Okay, get your bags upstairs and then we'll make some popcorn and see if we can find a good chick flick to watch! Then we can watch Uncle Steve squirm at all the mushiness in the movie." Catherine said excitedly as the girls giggled and Steve rolled his eyes.

As they ran upstairs with their bags, Catherine turned and walked to Steve. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the mouth. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Steve kissed her back. But seriously? A chick flick? Could this night get any worse? The horror was written all over Steve's face. As the girls scampered upstairs talking ninety miles a minute, Catherine smiled up at him, "Take a deep breath, Commander. They're just two little girls. It's all going to be okay."

Steve wasn't so sure. "I don't know, Cath. I don't know if this was a good idea." He was totally out of his element and Catherine knew it. It was completely adorable seeing him so flustered. She smiled sweetly at him, "I promise, you will be just fine."

She leaned up to kiss him again, "I'll make it up to you later. I promise."

Steve reached down to grab her backside. "I'll hold you to that, Lieutenant."

Steve looked up to find Grace and Lucy watching them from the stairs. He quickly let go of Catherine's ass…..Perfect as it was.

"Okay. Who's ready for some popcorn?" he croaked out.

Steve worked on getting the popcorn while Catherine started looking through the movies to find something appropriate for 12 year olds.

When he returned with the popcorn a few minutes later, he found them watching one of those awards shows rather than a movie. They were both in a tizzy over the fact that a group called "One Direction" was going to be on at any minute. Their pillows were sprawled out on the floor in front of the tv as they waited for the elusive group to make an appearance. He settled down on the couch with Catherine having entirely no idea what was to come. Had he known, he might have just stayed with Danny and let Catherine bring the girls home by herself. Or at least put in some ear plugs. But who knew?

One Direction took the stage and he could have sworn he went deaf within 10 seconds. Steve had witnessed bombings, endless gunfire, and all sorts of other assaults, but they had nothing on two pre-teen girls screaming for their favorite group. Good Lord, the sound was deafening!

Then he looked at Gracie. She was growing up before their eyes…..and even though the sound barrier had just been broken in his living room, he couldn't help but smile. She was so beautiful and growing up too fast. Where was the time going? In this moment, he could totally understand why Danny had a heart attack every time anything happened to show how Grace was growing up.

He looked down at Catherine who was also smiling. She looked up at him. "Gosh, this brings back memories." She said.

"Memories of what?"

"My friends and I were all CRAZY over New Kids on the Block back in the day."

Steve's eyebrows quirked up. "Seriously?"

Catherine laughed. "Oh yeah! I was a total "blockhead". We loved them. You could ask my dad because I'm sure his ears were ringing after every tv appearance they had. We went crazy." She laughed at the memory.

Steve suddenly felt himself soften even more as he tried to picture a young Catherine acting like Gracie at the moment.

Before long the group had finished their song and left the stage leaving the girls chattering about who was the "cutest"….and who had the "best hair", etc. Steve was amazed that they could all talk at the same time and still understand each other. As long as he lived, he would never understand teenage girls.

They eventually put in a movie that Grace said was one of her favorites called "When In Rome". _Yep, definitely a chick flick_, Steve thought to himself. He tried to get out of watching it by going into his den to "do some work". That was until three pairs of eyes looked at him pleadingly to stay with them. Gracie, Lucy, .and yes, even Catherine. _Dang these females and their looks! _

As if the looks weren't bad enough, Gracie and Lucy decided to tag team him with begging. As he got up from the couch to leave, Grace stood up and grabbed one of his hands, "Please stay with us, Uncle Steve. Danno always watches with us," she pleaded with her big brown eyes. _Well, he couldn't be outdone by Danno, that's for sure_, he reasoned.

Lucy followed suit grabbing the other hand and looking up at him with her equally big blue eyes, "Please stay and watch with us. You'll like this one," she smiled adoringly up at him. He doubted he would like it, but he was utterly powerless to say no.

He looked to Catherine for some moral support, but instead, she patted the couch beside her as if motioning for him to return. He let out a resigned sigh and sat back down beside her. Then Gracie settled in beside Catherine and Lucy settled in beside him. And they watched the movie.

When the movie was finished a couple of hours later, both girls had fallen asleep. Steve carried them one at a time up to Mary's bedroom and put them in bed. After getting them both tucked in, he turned to leave the room to find Catherine standing in the doorway smiling softly at him. When he reached the door, she leaned up to kiss him.

"You're really good at this, you know?"

"What?" Steve asked.

"Putting the girls to bed without waking them up. It's amazing how gentle you can be when you want to."

Without missing a beat, Steve picked Catherine up into his arms and kissed her sweetly on the mouth. "Now it's time for me to put _you_ to bed." He smiled at her seductively.

Catherine chuckled and put a finger to her mouth. "Shhhhh. As long as we are _quiet_."

He walked down the hallway to their bedroom before quietly shutting the door and praying they would have some time together without waking the sleeping beauties down the hall.


	4. Trouble for Gracie

**This chapter has a different twist. We never see Grace in any sort of trouble. She's a good kid and the entire Five-0 Ohana is crazy about her. But….she **_**is**_** a normal kid. Now that she's getting older, I can't help but think she'll be testing her boundaries sooner or later. This is my take on what might happen if that were the case when Danno is out of town and Steve is in charge. What do you think? **

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Steve couldn't believe it. Grace had lied to him. Gracie! How could this happen?

Danny was in New Jersey for a family funeral. It was supposed to be his weekend with Grace, so rather than making Rachel and Step-Stan change their plans to go out of town, Steve and Catherine had volunteered to keep her while Danny was gone.

Grace had called him before school was over to see if she could go home with Lucy and let him pick her up there later. After confirming Lucy's mom would be the one picking them up, Steve felt comfortable with it since he needed to finish a couple of things at work anyway. He also knew that Grace occasionally went home with Lucy, so there was no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary.

But then everything changed. Steve caught a case and needed to pick Grace up from Lucy's early and get her back home before going to the crime scene. Imagine the surprise when he arrived at Lucy's house and found no one home. Trying to keep his cool and not think about "worst case scenario", he called Lucy's mom. She had brought the girls home from school, but then had to run a couple of errands. She had left Grace and Lucy with "big sister", Maggie. That also was not out of the ordinary since Maggie had watched the girls before. So Steve had three missing girls and a worried mom. Where could they be?

Steve tried not to panic, but it was getting harder by the second. He had already tried Grace's phone twice and didn't get an answer. He decided to try again.

"Hi, Uncle Steve." Grace's voice held none of her normal cheerfulness when talking to him. She sounded tentative, in fact, but he was more than relieved to at least have her answer the phone.

"Gracie? Oh thank, God. Where are you?" Steve asked.

At first, she didn't answer, so he asked again. "Answer me, Gracie. Where are you?"

Grace sighed on the other line. "We're at the mall."

Steve's mood went from worry to frustration in seconds. "Excuse me….Did you say you're at the _mall_?"

"Yes. Maggie brought us, but we should be back…."

Steve interrupted her. "Don't move. Do you hear me? I want you and Lucy to go to the food court and _do not move_. I'm coming to pick you up."

"But Uncle Steve…."

"Don't argue with me, young lady. I'll be there in 10 minutes."

Steve was furious and fought the urge to turn on his blue lights just so he could get there more quickly. At the mall? Seriously. What the hell was she thinking? He called Catherine to fill her in and then called Chin and Kono to tell them he would meet them at the crime scene as soon as possible. They could handle the preliminaries without him anyway. The important thing right now was getting Grace back home.

Pulling into the mall parking lot, he didn't even bother finding a parking spot. He just pulled into emergency lane so he could run inside. This time he _did_ turn the police lights on. Some wouldn't consider this an emergency, but he did, dammit! It didn't take long to find Grace and Lucy sitting at a table eating some ice cream. As he approached their table, Gracie saw the look on her Uncle Steve's face and sat up straight. She had never seen him like this before.

He stopped right in front of their table, "Grace, get your things and come with me. You too, Lucy, let's go."

Now Grace _knew_ he was mad: He never called her "Grace"…..It was always "Gracie".

"But Uncle Steve….." Grace tried to explain.

Steve interrupted her, "Not now, Grace. Let's go. Right_ now._" He looked from her to Lucy. Both girls quickly complied.

"Where is Maggie?" he asked. Neither girl wanted to make him any angrier, so they told him where Maggie could be found. After locating Maggie, who had apparently gone there to meet a boy, Steve pulled her apart from said boyfriend and glared. "What are you doing leaving two little girls by themselves in a mall?"

Maggie looked at Steve as if he had two heads. "Whatever, dude. We were only going to be here a little longer and I told them where to meet me. It's all good."

Steve pointed a finger at her. "First of all, don't ever call me 'dude'. It's 'sir'. Do you understand me?" Maggie flinched a little but didn't say a word, so Steve continued, "Since you aren't responsible enough to watch them, I'm taking them back to my house and one of your parents can pick them up later."

"Wait a minute!" Maggie wailed, "I can't go home without them. I'll get into trouble!"

Steve looked at her matter-of-factly, "You're already in trouble, young lady. Now, if I were you, I would get my ass home."

He didn't wait for her to respond. Instead, he took both Grace and Lucy's hands in his own and marched them out to his truck. Neither girl wanted to say much on the ride home. They knew they were in trouble, too. It seemed to take forever, but they finally made it back to Steve's house where Catherine was anxiously waiting.

"Oh my God, Grace! Lucy! Are you girls okay?" Catherine went to hug both of them in relief.

"Yes, Aunty Cath. We're fine. But Uncle Steve is really mad. He hasn't even let me explain." Grace pouted as both girls turned to look at him. Steve, however, was too upset to be deterred this time by the pouty faces or sad eyes that were turned his way.

He pointed to the couch, "Grace, Lucy, sit down. Now."

They weren't about to argue.

Catherine gave Steve a look of her own before taking his arm and leading him into the kitchen where they could talk privately for a minute. She knew Steve was upset. He had also obviously been alarmed when he couldn't find Grace. But there had to be a logical explanation. This wasn't like Gracie.

"Steve, you need to take a deep breath and calm down before you go in and talk to them."

"I can't calm down, Catherine! Gracie lied to me. She was supposed to be at Lucy's house, but she ended up at a mall with a sixteen year old who was more interested in putting her tongue in her boyfriend's mouth than watching two little girls. Maggie left them _alone. _I mean, I don't even want to think about what could have happened." Steve's voice was getting louder and he was pacing.

"Shhh!" Catherine shushed and poked him hard in the arm. "Stop it! Sounds to me like the problem should be with _Maggie_, not Grace and Lucy. Besides, you've never been upset with Grace like this and you have those poor girls scared to death."

"Well, maybe they should be. After a stunt like this, I may put both of them over my knee."

Listening in the other room, Grace and Lucy looked at each other wide eyed. He wouldn't, would he?

Catherine put her hands on her hips, but her voice remained calm, "Steven John McGarrett, those girls deserve a chance to explain what happened before you fly off the handle. You know this isn't like them. Now wipe that scowl off your face, Commander, and get in there and let them _explain._"

_Did she just call me by my full name?_ Steve thought half amused. _And she poked me! In the arm!_ He rubbed the tender spot where her fist had jabbed him and thought about what she'd said. He knew Catherine was right. So, he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and walked back into the living room with Catherine following close behind.

He sat on the coffee table facing Grace and Lucy. Seeing their innocent faces on the verge of tears, he felt himself soften a little. Rather than letting himself get upset about what could have happened….again….he took another deep breath.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" he asked as calmly as he possibly could.

Both girls looked at him hesitantly before Grace finally spoke up.

"We didn't want to go to the mall, Uncle Steve. Honest, we didn't. But after Lucy's mom left, Maggie said she just wanted to go by for a few minutes and then we'd come right back home. When we got there, she met her boyfriend. Maggie told us to walk around a little and meet her back at the fountain when it was time to go home. We were only going to stay for like 30 minutes."

Lucy picked the story up from here. "We went back to the fountain when we were supposed to, but Maggie wasn't there. I tried to call her a couple of times and she didn't answer, so we just kept walking around trying to find her."

Steve's blood pressure started to rise again. So they had tried to call big sister and she didn't answer? Oh, he was going to have a word with her father about this.

Steve looked back at Grace. "Why didn't you answer your phone when _I_ called?"

Shame filled Gracie's face and she swallowed, "Because I knew you were going to be mad. I wanted to find Maggie so we could get back home before anyone knew we were gone."

"You still should have answered the phone, Gracie. When plans were changed and you found yourself somewhere you shouldn't have been without permission, you knew better than to stay there by yourself, right? You had us worried sick!"

Grace looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "I know. But we knew Maggie would get into a lot of trouble if you guys found out. I'm really sorry."

Okay, so now what, Steve thought. Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Lucy's dad was there to pick her up with the same scowl on his face that Steve had been sporting a few minutes earlier. Steve and Catherine relayed the girl's version of what had happened. Lucy's dad left with Lucy in tow and a promise to Steve that he would handle the issue with his oldest daughter once he got home.

After they were gone, Steve looked at Grace who remained sitting on the couch. Sweet Gracie. He was still upset with her, but overwhelming relieved that she was okay. He sat down beside her and took her hand. "Gracie, I really have to get to a crime scene, so we'll talk about this more when I get back. Okay?"

"Please don't tell, Danno." Grace pleaded. Much as Steve would've liked to comply with that request…..especially since he knew Danny was going to freak out…he also knew he couldn't do it.

"You know I can't do that. Danno will find out sooner or later anyway, so it's better if I tell him now. But don't worry. I'll tell him that we've handled it. Okay?"

Grace looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Uncle Steve. Do you still love me?"

Steve couldn't hide his shock at such a question. Feeling the need to hold her, he pulled her onto his lap to hug her. "Of course, I do, sweetheart. Nothing will ever make me stop loving you. You just scared me, is all."

He pulled her back to look at him. "Don't ever do anything like that again, understand?" His voice was calm but firm. "Next time, you call me no matter what. Promise?"

She shook her head. "I promise."

He kissed her on the forehead before getting up to leave. He made his way over to Catherine and kissed her goodbye as well, "I gotta go. I'll be back as soon as I can."

And with that, he walked out the door.


	5. Gracie's Valentine

Grace was excited because she was spending the night with Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath tonight. She loved staying at their house because Steve always made her pancakes in the morning, and Uncle Steve made the _best_ pancakes. Not that she would ever tell Danno.

Earlier that week, she had gone back to the office with Danno after he picked her up from school. She heard Uncle Steve, Catherine, and her dad talking about Valentine's weekend coming up. Grace knew she wasn't supposed to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it. She was curious.

Danno wanted to do something special with Amber, but they were changing plans since it was his weekend to have Grace. Catherine stepped in and volunteered for Grace to stay with her and Steve so Danny could still make plans with Amber.

Steve had agreed, "Yeah, we would love to have her stay with us. We weren't planning on doing anything until Saturday anyway."

Catherine looked at him quizzically. "We have plans Saturday? Since when?"

Steve wiggled his eyebrows and smiled at Catherine, "Well, it _is_ Valentine's weekend you know. It's _possible_ that I have something planned for us…..but I couldn't do what I wanted to do until Saturday night. So…..now you have a heads up. Don't make any plans Saturday night."

Catherine looked pleased and surprised at the same time.

Steve looked back at Danny. "So…..like I said, we'd be happy to have Gracie if you and Amber can do something together Friday night."

Grace came out of Danny's office. "Please, Danno? Let me stay with Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath!"

Danny turned to his daughter with a smirk. "Okay, monkey, what have I told you about eavesdropping?"

Grace rolled her eyes before turning them on to her dad. She knew he couldn't resist her "puppy dog eyes", as he'd told her many times. "I know, but I couldn't help it. You guys are standing _right here _in the hallway. It's not like you were trying to be quiet. So…..can I stay with them? Please?" She clasped her hands in front of her for extra emphasis.

Danny shook his head. He was toast; He couldn't withstand the pressure of puppy dog eyes _and _begging. Besides, she had a point….They _were_ standing right outside of his office so it wasn't like they were being secretive about it. "Okay." He agreed. "They can pick you up from school on Friday and you can spend the night there. Then, I'll pick you up on Saturday and we can have our own Valentine's Day celebration, okay?"

The smile that crossed her face melted his heart…..and Steve's…..just like it did every time she looked at them that way.

So here they were. It was Friday afternoon and Grace was anxious for school to end so she could see her Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine. She walked out of school to find Steve waiting for her as he leaned against his blue truck. He couldn't help but notice that Grace looked a little distressed as she came out of school.

He put his arms around her as she reached him. "Hey Gracie. How was school?"

"It was okay," she said quietly, and even though she offered him a smile, Steve could tell there was something on her mind. He decided not to press the issue right now, though. It could wait. He got Grace settled in the truck before pulling out of the driveway and heading home.

Catherine was waiting for them and threw her arms excitedly around Grace as they entered the house.

"Gracie, we're so excited to have you here. We're going to make pizza….and I have some really good movies we can watch that will make Uncle Steve squirm." Catherine and Grace both turned to smile at Steve, and although he grimaced at the thought of what was ahead that evening, he couldn't deny that his heart swelled at seeing Cath and Grace smiling at him like they were at the moment. Only for these two girls would he endure the "horror" of sitting through chick flicks.

*****h50*****h50*****h50

After pizza and not one, but two "touchy feely" movies, Steve looked down to find Grace asleep. At some point during the second movie, she had stretched out across him and Catherine and her heavy eyes had won the battle against staying awake anymore. Trying not to wake her, Steve shifted so he could pick her up and carry her to bed. As he walked back down the stairs, he found Catherine watching him with a smile on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Did I ever tell you how sexy you are when I see you taking care of Gracie?"

Steve grinned in reply as he sauntered over to the couch to sit beside her again. "Oh yeah? Well, now that you mention it…..No, you haven't told me that before." He looked in the direction of the upstairs area and sighed contentedly. "I'd do anything for that little girl, ya know. She's a great kid."

Catherine felt her heart swell at the look of pure love in his eyes. Oh, how she loved this man! Beneath his gruff exterior, he really was a big old softie. Catherine's eyes couldn't hide the love and desire she felt as she leaned in to kiss him again, "Yes, she is. And you're going to make a great daddy someday, Sailor."

"You think so?" Steve asked before kissing her again.

"I know so. Strangely enough, watching you with kids is quite the turn on."

Catherine felt butterflies in her stomach as Steve through his head back and laughed. His laugh always made her stomach do little flip flops. Then he turned to her with a naughty gleam in his eyes as he pulled her onto his lap. "Well, I'm happy to know it turns you on. Lieutenant. I could think of a couple of other things to turn you on, too."

Steve carried her upstairs, shut the door, and he and Catherine had their own "pre-Valentine" celebration.

**********h50*********h50***********h50

_A while later…_

Steve opened the door to check on Grace and found her sleeping. Or so he thought. He heard a little sniffle before he closed the door which caused his senses to go into alert mode. Was she crying?

He walked into the room quietly, but Grace heard him approaching and turned away to avoid his gaze. Another sniffle escaped her causing Steve's heart to clench in his chest as he saw her holding a Kleenex in her hand. She was obviously trying not to let him see she was crying. He sat down on the bed beside her and put a hand on her arm.

"Hey, what's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Nothing." She sniffed. "It's stupid."

Steve had to smile in spite of himself. He made her turn in his direction before reaching out to wipe a tear from her cheek. "It's not stupid if it's upsetting you, Gracie." He put a finger under her chin so she would look at him. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Grace shook her head. "I know."

"And you know I love you, right?"

Grace sniffled again and shook her head in agreement.

"Okay…..so tell me what has you upset?"

Gracie let out a dramatic sigh, "I thought Tyler would give me a Valentine's card today and he didn't."

"Tyler?" Steve had to think. Tyler was the boy Grace had a crush on, the boy who was giving Danny a heart attack because Grace _had_ a crush, and the boy whom Steve remembered seeing Grace with the last time he had picked her up from school. "Oh yeah…I remember Tyler. So you thought he was going to give you a card for Valentine's Day and then he didn't?"

Grace shook her head. "I felt so stupid because I put a card in his locker first thing this morning. And then he came up to me later and started thanking me for the card….but then his friends came up and started making fun of him and making funny noises."

"What kind of noises?" Steve asked.

"You know….like kissing noises and they were saying things….and Tyler got embarrassed and just walked away. I felt so stupid."

Steve's heart softened as he watched this little girl who was growing up too fast. Knowing that this was very important to her, Steve tried to keep his face serious, "Yeah, well boys can be kinda stupid sometimes, Gracie. Especially in front of a pretty girl. Give him a few years and it won't matter what his friends say."

"But I don't want to wait _years_, Uncle Steve." Grace gasped as if it was the most horrible thing she'd ever heard in her young life.

Steve pulled her up so he could hold her in a hug. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. What I meant to say was that I'm sure Tyler didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Maybe he'll think about it this weekend and apologize to you when you go back to school on Monday."

Grace looked a little sheepish, "I think he might have already tried."

"How's that?"

"Well, he tried to call my cell phone a couple of times when you and Cath were making dinner, and I just ignored him."

Steve couldn't help but chuckle, "Playing hard to get, huh, young lady?'

Grace looked a little embarrassed as she grinned up at him.

Steve lifted a finger to tweak her nose before lifting his hand for a 'high five'. "Good girl! Just don't be too hard on him. I think he might really like you. So if he tries to call you tomorrow, maybe you can talk to him and see what he has to say. What do you think?"

Grace shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so."

"And then if he doesn't apologize," Steve continued, "Danno and I can go beat him up next week. Okay?"

Gracie giggled. "I think he's actually afraid of you and Danno."

Steve looked down at her with a look of mock surprise. "No! Why would he be afraid of us?"

"Because he knows you're with Five-0. I think you intimidate him."

Steve kissed the top of her head. "Well, get some sleep, baby. I'm sure it will all work out."

He tucked her into bed again before returning to Catherine and falling asleep himself.

************h50************h50***********h50

The next morning, Grace woke up and went downstairs to find Steve making pancakes while Catherine fried up some bacon and cut up fruit. As she walked into the kitchen, they both turned to her.

"Morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?" Steve asked.

Grace shook her head. Then, she pulled her hand from behind her back and held out cards to Steve and Catherine. "Since today is Valentine's Day, I made a card for both of you."

"Aw, Gracie. How sweet!" Catherine said as she reached out for the card Grace had made for her. Steve followed suit and they both read the sweet handmade cards Grace had made for them.

When they went out to the lanai for breakfast, they found that Steve had already set the table and placed a card at seats for Grace and Catherine. Catherine looked at him in surprise. There was also a little heart shaped box of chocolates for each of them, roses for Catherine, and a teddy bear for Grace.

"You got us Valentine's presents?"

"Of course." Steve replied. "You're the two most special girls in my life." Then he let out a little cough before turning serious, "Just don't let anyone know. I mean, I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation, after all."

"And what reputation is that?" Catherine asked with an amused expression on her beautiful face.

"The reputation of a bad-ass." Then he turned to Gracie, "Sorry, Gracie. I probably shouldn't have said that."

Grace rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Uncle Steve. I hear worse than that every day at school."

Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He didn't like that. Not one bit. And he doubted Danny would either.

Grace walked up to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, Uncle Steve. I love you!" Then she reduced her voice to a whisper, "And don't worry. I won't tell anyone you're really a big softie!"

Steve hugged her back before kissing her cheek. "I love you too, Gracie."

Catherine followed suit by wrapping her arms around him and giving him a kiss. "And I love you too, Commander."

"I love you. Happy Valentine's Day. We'll celebrate again later, okay? Don't forget, we have plans." The promise in Steve's smile made Catherine feel a little weak in the knees.

Grace looked at them and smiled. Some day she wanted a love like Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath.


End file.
